Tag Archives: virtue

Virtuous followers of all religions should be respected

Posted on August 11, 2011 | 4 comments

Tariq Jahan calls for peace after the murder of his son

Tariq Jahan calls for peace after the murder of his son

In my previous post I concluded that we should respect virtuous people of all faiths. Unfortunate circumstances have shown us such a person, Tariq Jahan. He and other shop keepers in Birmingham went out to defend their shops from the mindless thugs who are looting and causing trouble in some of England’s cities. On seeing opposition one of the looters deliberately drove his car at speed into the crowd, killing three men. One of the men killed was Haroon Jahan, Tariq’s son

Shortly after this, Tariq spoke publicly on television. He said:

Today, we stand here to call to all the youth to remain calm, for our communities to stay united.

I have lost my son – if you want to lose yours step forward, otherwise calm down and go home.

Later he added

As we stand here today, this is not a race issue. The families have received messages of sympathy and support from all parts of the communities – from all faiths, all colours and backgrounds.

I applaud and respect him for calling for peace and unity at a difficult time. My heart goes out to him and his family

Low resolution image captured from video on BBC site, considered fair usage for copyright purposes.

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Posted in hinduism, islam, other religions, religion

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Should we respect all religions?

Posted on August 6, 2011 | 29 comments

Medieval Crusader sees it as a God-given right to kill unbelievers in the Holy Land

Medieval Crusader

This post looks at how we can reconcile extremist destructive religions with the instruction to respect all people who believe in God. Interestingly a fellow Saivite has just published a post looking at the issues at the other end of the spectrum, In “Devas on the head of a pin?” he asks how can we give enough credit to the beliefs of other religions where the teachings appear to be different but the truth behind must be the same.

I have been prompted to think about this by an interesting comment by Kodanda,  where he talks about sattvic and non-sattvic religions. He asserted that the Hindu proclamation “Ekam sat, viprah bahudhaa vadanti” or “There is one truth (God), but sages describe it differently” could only be applied to sattvic religions. Religions that promote violence, conversion by force, threats, bribes or deceit, that subjugate unbelievers should not be included in this. It is certainly possible that the sages who first wrote this had only come across Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism and not the exclusive religions who would like to see an end to all other beliefs.

At first I was worried that this would contradict the teachings of my sampradaya (Hindu schdenominationool) as Gurudeva says:

How Do Saivites Regard Other Faiths?

SLOKA 12
Religious beliefs are manifold and different. Saivites, understanding the strength of this diversity, wholeheartedly respect and encourage all who believe in God. They honor the fact that Truth is one, paths are many. Aum.

His Nandinatha Sutras also say:

SUTRA 231: INTERACTING WITH OTHER FAITHS
Siva’s devotees properly respect and address virtuous persons of all religious traditions. They may support and participate in interfaith gatherings from time to time with leaders and members of all religions. Aum.

SUTRA 232: NOT DEMEANING OTHER SECTS OR RELIGIONS
Siva’s devotees do not speak disrespectfully about other Hindu lineages, their beliefs, Gods, sacred sites, scriptures, or holy men and women. Nor do they disparage other religions. They refuse to listen to such talk. Aum. Continue reading →

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Posted in christian right, hinduism, islam, other religions, religion

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